We must work hard to beat Croatia, Mikel tells teammates

Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel in action in their friendly match against England, which ended 2-1 in favour of the Three Lions. He wants improved performance in Saturday’s World Cup opener against Croatia. PHOTO: AFP

• Eagles are favourite in Group D, says Ahmed Musa
With two days to their Group D opener at the World Cup, Super Eagles captain, Obi Mikel, has sounded a note of warning to his teammates to step up their games.

‘’We need to continue to work hard, and we need to continue to train and do exactly what we want and what the coach asks for us,’’ Mikel told reporters, including TASS.

The Russia 2018 World Cup begins today, but the Super Eagles will begin their action on Saturday against Croatia. The former Chelsea star stated he is satisfied with the training facilities at the Super Eagles base camp in Yessentuki.

‘’I think it’s (the base camp) good. The field is very good, and the fans and the children who came to support us are amazing.

‘’It was nice that after the training, we had the opportunity to give some autographs to the guys. We are in a very good place, I believe.’’

Rohr said that the players are ready physically and he will use the next three days to work on tactics and technique.

Meanwhile, Leicester City striker, Ahmed Musa, has picked Nigeria as the favorites to progress in Group D ahead of Argentina. He noted that they have to win their games against Croatia and Iceland.

According to allnigeriasoccer.com, Musa admitted that the Super Eagles first game against Croatia on Saturday will be difficult, but hope they will win despite the opponents having in their ranks Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić, Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitić and Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren.